The sounds he’s engineered here are undeniable in that regard and will surely be as eyebrow-raising for the uninitiated as they are for those overcome with nostalgia. To be fair, though, these same touchstones of hip-hop past are in many cases samples themselves, with Khaled merely furthering the tradition he was born into-updating great music for a new generation of listeners.
classic “Long Kiss Goodnight” for “THIS IS MY YEAR,” and then we get Justin Timberlake on “JUST BE” singing over a piano loop that Ghostface Killah made famous on “All That I Got Is You.” Project opener “THANKFUL,” featuring Lil Wayne and Jeremih, borrows the flute line from JAY-Z’s “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love).” Fans of dearly departed ATL hero Shawty Lo will recognize the horn charge from H.E.R./Migos collaboration “WE GOING CRAZY” as the one from “Dey Know.” A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Big Sean, Puff Daddy, and Rick Ross appear over an interpolation of the Notorious B.I.G. For hip-hop heads of a certain age, there’s an inescapable familiarity present throughout DJ Khaled’s 12th studio album, KHALED KHALED.
